Centor / McIsaac
Clinical pharyngitis criteria; distinct Centor and McIsaac variants.
Centor score
Principle
Four clinical criteria, each worth one point; total 0–4.
Scope
Adult pharyngitis; local restriction ≥18 years. Current criterion variant, distinct from reproducing the original 1981 wording.
Interpretation limits
Aid to pharyngitis assessment; does not confirm streptococcal infection or prescribe testing or antibiotics. Apply the epidemiological context and local protocol, particularly with risk of acute rheumatic fever. A low score does not exclude the need for testing in a high-risk patient.
Formula and logic
Sum of explicit contributions, without prior rounding.
Definition version : 0.1.0
Sources
- IDSA — Clinical Practice Guideline Update: GAS Pharyngitis · Table 3
2025 · publication 2026 · Criteria of current variants; fever ≥38 °C and age correction ≥45 years. No guideline text or table reproduced.
McIsaac score
Principle
Four clinical criteria and an age correction; raw sum −1 to 5.
Scope
Pharyngitis from 3 years. Current raw sum −1 to 5; this result does not reproduce the 0–4 capping in the 1998 study.
Interpretation limits
Aid to pharyngitis assessment; does not confirm streptococcal infection or prescribe testing or antibiotics. Apply the epidemiological context and local protocol, particularly with risk of acute rheumatic fever. A low score does not exclude the need for testing in a high-risk patient.
Formula and logic
Absence of cough + tender anterior nodes + fever ≥38 °C + tonsillar findings + age correction (+1 / 0 / −1). Uncapped raw sum.
Definition version : 0.1.0
Sources
- IDSA — Clinical Practice Guideline Update: GAS Pharyngitis · Table 3
2025 · publication 2026 · Criteria of current variants; fever ≥38 °C and age correction ≥45 years. No guideline text or table reproduced.
- McIsaac et al. · CMAJ — A clinical score to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in patients with sore throat
1998 · Score origin and limitations; historical capped version 0–4, distinct from the delivered raw sum.